Uno on the Run
by Mr. Askanius Trick
Summary: He thought that being in the Galactic Kids Next Door was his dream come true. He thought he had found his purpose in life. Looks like he was wrong. Now Nigel Uno has returned to Earth, but the GKND is not going to let him get away so easily...
1. In the Beginning

Uno On The Run

A barely noticeable blip on the radar showed on Numbuh 553's station. He looked up from his Yipper comic to check the trajectory of the little piece of what probably was space junk. Nope, no crash course to Moon Base, it was just gonna pass harmlessly by and…wait, it's changing direction!

"Heads up! We got something incoming!" he hollered, hoping his call would be sent on to someone who'd know what to do, hopefully Numbuh 362. Numbuh 553 wasn't any sort of science wiz, but he knew enough to know that space junk or asteroids don't bank left THAT quickly.

Just five stations down, another voice sounded out, this one was Numbuh 919. "Numbuh 553's 'incoming something' is hailing us!" she called nervously, her blonde ponytail whipping around her head as she looked over to Numbuh 553. Suddenly, 553 heard a 'Clank!' to his left. He jumped about a foot out of his seat when he found that Numbuh 362 had landed next to his station out of nowhere. Honestly, the girl was just plain scary most of the time! No wonder she was the KND's top spy.

"Well looks like it's not incoming anymore, it's stopped," Numbuh 362 said as Numbuh 553 swung his gaze back to his little radar monitor. How did he miss that? "Patch this thing through Numbuh 919," the Soopreme Leaduh continued, striding briskly over to a pulley that hung down from the edge of the Moon Base's notorious Bridge.

As Rachael McKenzie yanked the pulley, it shot her up to the Bridge once more. A moment later the super-jumbo screen that hung before the Bridge came to life, displaying a sight no one ever thought they'd see again…

"Greetings Kids Next Door, this is Agent Earth of the Galactic Kids Next Door, requesting to dock."

Rachael's jaw hung unprofessionally (and embarrassingly) wide open. She never thought she'd see that cocky smirk again…


	2. Homecoming Suspicions

Uno On The Run

"And this, cadets, is what we call a 'Code Un-Possible!'. Now history pop quiz. Who can tell me who that is?" Numbuh 60 asked his flock of awe-struck cadets, who were getting their first glimpse of Moon Base today.

"Numbuh 1," they all answered in unison, utterly stupefied. The group of twelve or so cadets huddled behind Numbuh 60 at the hallway just before the Bridge, as if afraid to step foot on it. Half of them probably were, even before a giant Numbuh 1 popped onto the video screen. Now they were all a moment away from peeing their pants…Or diapers in two cases. And no, those two cases were not younger than 5.

"Get yer cruddy wee babies outta mah way!" a banshee shrieked from behind Numbuh 60. He did an about-face just in time to come face-to-face with Numbuh 86, the bane of his existence (besides the countless number of cadets he had to practically baby-sit every day).

"And here, kiddies, is what we call a 'Code Fulbright'," Patton said with cool nonchalance, as if he commented on the weather. It was a well-known fact that only Numbuh 60 had the guts (or death wish) to talk to the dreaded Decommissioner like that. It was also rumored that he was the only one to do so and live to tell about it.

"WHY YOU! If I had a nickel for every time I should have decommissioned you…" Numbuh 86 growled, seizing Patton's collar with both hands.

"And if I had a nickel for every time I've heard you threaten to decommission me…" He was abruptly cut off as Fanny shoved past him and onto the Bridge.

Before Fanny could begin to scream at Numbuh 1, or rather "Agent Earth", Numbuh 362 gathered her wits and jumped right back into her leader mindset, "Numbuh 86, you have the Bridge. Numbuh 5-1, open bay door 8. Numbuh 919, cut the transmission. Numbuh 1-"

"Agent Earth," the giant Nigel Uno corrected crisply, "And it hasn't been that long Numbuh 362, I know the procedures. See you in bay 8 ten minutes ago." And with that, the jumbo-screen went blank.

* * *

><p>Rachel couldn't decide whether to be fuming or overjoyed as she raced to hangar bay 8.<p>

_'My God, he's back! Nigel, after all this time…but why? And why would he be so reckless to just announce it in front of the entire Moonbase! Then again, this IS Numbuh 1…'_

Rachel arrived in the hangar bay just in time for the ground crew to stare up at his ship in awe. Normally they would be scrambling to lock it in place and perform basic repairs, but this thing was…crazy. The ship, well it didn't even look like a ship! It's main body was a purple, seemingly windowless oval with three foot spikes all over it. Hovering in the air off either side were glowing, pulsating orbs that bobbed up and down, giving off a sickly green light. The craft touched down, taking up just about as much space as a S.C.A.M.P.E.R.

Rachel took a moment to compose herself before striding out into the mostly empty, spacious hangar to Numbuh 1's strange craft. The ground crew still hadn't moved a muscle, but they all jumped about three feet back with the front of the craft unexpectedly flung open, and out stepped Nigel Uno himself casually sucking on a juice box.

"Well hello Rach-"

"My office. Now."

* * *

><p>"Ey Numbah 60."<p>

Patton turned about to find Numbuh 4 approaching him from down the hall. He had just sent his cadets back down to Earth and was heading to Numbuh 362's office to give her his weekly report.

"What is it Numbuh 4?" 60 asked.

"Oi'm guessin' ya heard about Numbah 3434?" he said stoically, staring Numbuh 60 straight in the eyes.

"I did," Patton answered shortly, narrowing his eyes a touch in suspicion.

Wallaby Beetles sighed and glanced down for a moment before looking back up at Patton. Then he continued, "Then needless ta say, theh's ah opening in the Wreckers*. We want ya ta fill it."

"_Swietnie_," Patton muttered under his breath and looked to the side. Join the Wreckers? "What about Artic Base? I can't just abandon it."

"Numbahs 44 are plen'y capable of runnin' things down theh'. C'mon Numbah 60, this is yer big chance ta get back in the field," Numbuh 4 said, now adopting a sly grin and jabbed Patton on the shoulder lightly, "Don' ya tell me ya haven't got BORED babystittin' the cadets!"

Numbuh 4 was right. Patton had been getting restless, especially in the last few months. Being back in the field would be great, but the Wreckers were…they were unorthodox. Reckless. Dangerous…

"I'll think about it," Patton said curtly and turned about again, about to head off to Numbuh 362's office. But before he could take a step, Numbuh 4 clapped a hand on his shoulder, having to reach up a bit since he was still pretty short.

"Ah'm goin' ta Numbah 362 ta request yer transfer anyway. We need someone loike you Numbuh 60," he said firmly, "Someone who can fight AND think at the same toime. Bum-rushin' and run n' gun can only go so fah'. Things are gonna start heatin' up, 'specially with Numbah 1 back."

Patton heard Numbuh 4 start to walk away. As he began to walk down the hall, Patton realized Numbuh 4 was right. Things would definitely heat up now that…

"Numbuh 4!" Patton yelled as he whipped back around, "How the heck did you know Numbuh 1 is back?"

Wally turned around with a smirk and said, "Who da ya think gave 'im the bypass codes fehr' Moon Base's defense grid?"

* * *

><p>Nigel crushed his now empty juice box in his fist and tossed it into Rachel's trashcan that sat next to her desk.<p>

"I told you, I was gone but now I'm back," Nigel repeated, "There's nothing else to it Rach-"

"That's Numbuh 362 to you!" Rachel said vehemently, now on her feet and leaning over her desk to glare at Numbuh 1, who was still trying to be as nonchalant as possible while leaning back in his chair, "I don't care how things are run in the GKND, there will be no operations run on my planet, no matter how much of a "matter of great importance" it many be or how top-secret it may be!"

"And that's why I keep telling you," Nigel said, now getting impatient, "I am not here on any GKND mission. I'm here because I want to be. It's as simple as that Ra-… Numbuh 362." He said her codename with deliberate sluggishness. Rachel growled with frustration, but returned to her seat. Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he came back to Earth on some sort of vacation.

No, that wasn't Numbuh 1. That wasn't Nigel Uno. He would never just go on a pleasure cruise half way across the galaxy to make a quick stop home between missions. He was here for a reason, and Rachel needed to know. But it was obvious, as his circular new black sunglasses stared blankly back at her, that she wouldn't get anything out of him right now.

"Fine, you win," she said, finally resigning their argument, "Now I suppose you'll…" Her communicator suddenly started beeping. "…Oh, Numbuh 60 is here to give his report. You don't mind do you? You can stay here too, this will only take a moment." Rachel got up and opened the door to her office to find Numbuh 60 waiting at ease on the other side. She wanted Numbuh 60 to see Numbuh 1, see his reaction and thus his opinion on the situation. Numbuh 60 had always been good at reading people, for some strange reason. That's probably why he was such good friends with her and Fanny; he could see past their tough-girl acts.

The young military man saluted her professionally as he always did. She gave him a simply nod and turned around to head back to her desk. Numbuh 60 followed her in and was going to sit in the chair in front of her desk, but found it occupied.

Without skipping a beat he said, "Hello Numbuh 1."

"Numbuh 60. How's Artic Base?"

"Mostly the same. Except the prison cells are emptier than in the past. And I assure you it's not because of a lack of villains out there."

"That's not good. Perhaps we can change that, eh?" Numbuh 1 replied slyly.

Rachel cut in before Numbuh 60 could reply, "Any new developments Numbuh 60?" Rachel sat in her chair, hands lightly folded in front of her.

Numbuh 1 shifted forward slightly, seeming to be interested.

Numbuh 60 shifted his attention from Numbuh 1 to his commanding officer and answered, "For once, no. All quiet on the Southern Front. The cadets are progressing as expected and the Prison is perfectly secure. Nightbrace tried to escape, but was quickly foiled. That's all." Numbuh 60 pauses for a moment, glanced at Numbuh 1 for an instant, then added, "Am I excused Numbuh 362 ma'am?"

'_He thinks something. Good.'_

"Yes Numbuh 60. Return to Artic Base," Rachel said evenly, "I'll see you next week." Patton saluted and made himself scarce quickly. There was a long pause. Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 362 stared each other down.

"Good old Patton hasn't changed a bit," Nigel said casually.

"What do you want Numbuh 1," Rachel snapped back instantly.

Numbuh 1 sighed, "Well since you refuse to be civil, I'd like to see my team."

Now it was Rachel's turn to sigh. She knew Nigel would not take the news she was about to deliver well.

"Numbuh 1, your old team isn't, well, a _team_ anymore," Rachel answered indirectly.

"What does that mean?" Numbuh 1 said quickly, a strange mixture of confusion, panic, worry, and suspicion visibly passing through him all at once.

"Sector V is disbanded," Rachel murmured, not wanting to continue meeting Numbuh 1's gaze.

"What?" Nigel exclaimed, leaping from his seat, "How could you!-"

"It wasn't my decision!" Rachel blurted, cutting him off, "They requested their own transfers."

The revelation his Nigel like a ton of bricks. He staggered, literally, and sank back into his seat.

"They…requested it?"

"Yes Numbuh 1. There is no Sector V in the Kids Next Door anymore," Rachel said solemnly, "Your friends have all been transferred into different divisions." Nigel remained silently, looking at Rachel expectantly. Rachel complied to his silent demand. "Numbuh 3 is here on Moonbase, Head Nurse. Numbuh 2 is our liaison to the Hall Monitors for the Eastern US, and he still flies from time to time when we need someone of his talents. As for his inventions, he keeps those as private projects these days. Numbuh 5 is running our newest spy ring. She's in California right now, running surveillance on under 21 clubs. And Numbuh 4…lets just say he's part of an emergency response unit. He's probably changed the most. I'm not even sure where he is right now."

Rachel could tell Nigel didn't like that fact that she couldn't tell him where Numbuh 4 was, but he didn't say anything.

"Can I see Kookie?" he said instead.

Rachel stood, opened her door and said, "This way."

* * *

><p>Fanny Fullbright was still running the Bridge, hollering down borderline profane criticisms to the staff. Would rather not go into gory details. She finally stopped her verbal onslaught when she heard footsteps behind her.<p>

"Yer babies gone home to their mamas?" she asked without turning around. She knew that crisp footfall as well as she knew his voice. Plus he would be the only one who would dare set foot on the Bridge while she was at the helm.

"Safe and sound. Probably having their warm milk before being tucked in," Patton countered, stopping at her side, arms crossed.

Fanny mirrored his posture and looked over at him, finding him staring straight forward with a lot on his mind.

"I heard Numbuh 4 asked ye ta join the Wreckers," she said quietly, trying to hide the hint of worry that haunted her mind. The Wreckers were a dangerous bunch. And as much as Fanny seemed to despise Patton, he was still her friend for better or worse.

"You know I would ask how news flies so fast, but Moonbase has more gossip in a day than Facebook does in a week," he replied humorously, still staring straight forward.

"Ye said 'no' didn't ye?" Fanny said, unable to contain that touch of hope that slipped through.

"Yes-... Well sort of," Patton said, now looking down doubtfully, "He's going to request my transfer regardless."

"Numbuh 362 will neva approve it," Fanny said with finality and quickly changed the subject, "So wha' about Numbuh 1?" Fanny was still dying inside to know why the sudden MIA operative had just as suddenly reappeared.

"He's afraid of something," Patton replied, now looking back at Fanny, "He's here to hide, I'm sure of it. He's trying to act like it's a casual visit but he hopes that being on Earth will protect him from something…or someone. The only question is: what?"

Numbuh 60 could not have been more right.


	3. The Stage Is Set

Uno On The Run

He couldn't tell. There was no way he could possible reveal something so terrible, so shameful, to anyone. Especially her. Nigel Uno shivered at the thought of what Rachel McKenzie would do to him if she found out he had run away from the GKND. He, Numbuh 1 of the Kids Next Door, the best there ever was, ran away with his tail between his legs.

She would also probably ask why. And that would be the simplest question Nigel would ever have to answer. He missed home. He couldn't take running all around space, trying to "save the universe from the disease".

Another thing he would never admit to was that he no longer believed that aging was a disease, an illness, the great plague that the GKND made it out to be. No, Nigel Uno now thought that growing up was just that; life progressing. Kids were just scared of it, and didn't understand it, so therefore they vilified it.

"Numbuh 1?" a voice cut into his reverie. Nigel jumped slightly in his easy chair. After their "discussion", Rachel had shown him to a currently unoccupied private room in the Moonbase's own house-and-board section. It turned out they were unable to get to see Numbuh 3, for the hospital just got an entire S.C.A.M.P.E.R. full of kids that were injured when they were shot down on their mission.

The room was simple; a small dresser, a single bed, an easy chair, and a TV hanging on the wall. All the furniture was pale blue and the walls were solid gray.

"Yes?" he responded plainly, measuring the boy messenger up from behind his shades. The boy was at least 10, maybe 11, average build for that age but still a bit lanky, pale green eyes, and moderately kept brown hair hanging to his shoulders. In short, your average American pre-teen. His helmet was adorned with the Numbuh 553.

"Um, the Supreme Leaduh wanted me to inform you…," the boy said, barely maintaining his composure. Nigel didn't blame him either, what the boy was doing was like talking to a ghost. A space ghost. "She wanted me to tell you that it's meatball sandwich day in the cafeteria."

Nigel immediately broke out into a smile. _'Ah Rachel, you know my one weakness.' _

"Go ahead and inform Numbuh 362 that I'll be right down," Nigel said with a dismissive wave to Numbuh 553. With that, the boy quickly nodded and made himself scarce. Nigel rose from his chair slowly. Before his reopened the door to his temporary residence to leave, he checked his watch. MIA for two days now. He was surprised the GKND wasn't here already. Nigel sighed, counting his blessings and hoped that his luck would continue for everyone's sake.

* * *

><p>GKND Dark Science Facility, Great Andromeda Asteroid Belt<p>

Numbuh Infinity stared out the floor to ceiling window, eyes blank behind his square sunglasses. But inside, he was anything but blank. _'What have I done'_ kept running circles around his mind. That kid, no, that _thing_ was never meant to be put back into commission. This facility was never meant to be accessed again. The project that was named after him, Project Infinity, was the reason this place was tainted ground and here he was digging a skeleton out of the closet that he put there himself. But Agent Earth's disappearance was his problem, his loose end. And Numbuh Infinity hated loose ends, so he was going to tie this one up as tight as he could and there was only one way to do that…

"Hello Infinity." That voice. That deep, artificial, inhuman voice. For a moment Numbuh Infinity tried to convince himself he was having a nightmare and the voice behind him was just imagination. But Numbuh Infinity turned around to face reality, and the face that should belong to death itself.

The thing standing across the vaulted chamber from him was in the form of a human boy. But the shape was the only thing human. The figure had a diseased looking gray skin with blood red lines running like cracks in the pavement streaking about its entire body. Its hair was silver and the eyes were darker than the void of space itself.

As the being began to move, it moved with superhuman grace and fluidity. There were moments when the being seemed to phase out of the normal flow of time and move in its own superior state of matter. After what seemed like an eternity, Omega-1, formerly known as Jim Franklin of Columbus, Ohio, was face to face with Numbuh Infinity.

"Miss me?" the being that was at least definitely male in biology said.

"I have a mission for you Omega-1," Infinity said, avoiding the question and trying his best not to tremble where he stood.

"Of course you do," Omega said, then cocked his head, "Are you still afraid of me?"

"You are to track down and return to me a rogue operative," Infinity continued, like Omega-1 had never spoken, now a nervous twitch in his hands, which were clasped behind his back.

"You still haven't changed a bit Daddy."

Numbuh Infinity flinched at being called this thing's father.

"Still ashamed of the monster he made, hoping to be the universe's savoir. But instead, he's Victor Frankenstein."

Infinity spun around to face back out into space, crossing his arms in front of him to hide his now trembling shoulders, and snapped, "I will not play your games Jim!"

What was once Jim Franklin laughed a dead, evil laugh and replied, "Okay Papa, I'll go wait in the car."

There was a disturbance in the air, and it was gone. Numbuh Infinity shook violently and fell to his knees, eyes bugging out of his sockets.

"What have I done?"

* * *

><p>Moonbase Cafeteria<p>

Nigel arrived in the cafeteria and scanned the room for Rachel. As expected, it took only five seconds for the room to go silent as everyone noticed him. Well, almost silent. There was still one conversation continuing, with two very familiar voices on the far side of the cafeteria.

"Numbah 362, you know Oi'm roight. We can't waste someone loike Numbah 60 keepin' 'im locked behind a desk!"

"I have noted you concern Numbuh 4, but I need time before I decide to throw one of my best officers into the lions' den."

"Oi talked ta him mah-self Supreme, he's ready."

"I told you, I need time-"

"Good to see you're just as stubborn as always, Wally," Nigel interrupted with a grin. He had advanced upon his friends while they were caught up in the reverie of their argument. By now, the normal buzz and flow of the cafeteria had returned, but there were at least five or six pairs of eyes glancing over at Nigel at any given moment. _Well at least no one's asked for an autograph._

Wally whipped his head around and smiled broadly at his long lost friend. "Great ta see ya again Noigel!" he said beaming, the slightest bit of water coming to his eyes.

* * *

><p>Patton sat in his part-time quarters in Moon Base, staring at his computer screen. He had decided upon staying at Moon Base that night for several reasons. One; he was curious how the 44 twins would handle running Artic Base for twenty-four hours, two; he wanted to do some research on certain recent operations, and three;….He wasn't quite sure. He had grown to enjoy Moon Base, mostly because he had several good friends up here. Well, back to research.<p>

_March 10, 2010: We landed already too deep into the Neck Tie Jungle to be findable on any map. We were going to have to go off Numbuh 20-20's memory for this one. We encountered an unusual amount of red Clip Ties before…_

"Ye're actually considerin' it, aren't ye?" a sad Irish voice came from behind him.

Patton spun around in his chair to face Fanny Fullbright, wondering in the back of his mind how she got into the room without his noticing. Especially since he had the door locked. She was leaning against the bedpost of the twin bed that he had right across from his desk. The room was small, and the only pieces of furniture were said desk and bed. Although he did have a porthole window looking out into space.

Patton sighed before responding, "Yes, I am." He saw Fanny's mood sink a bit more, so he added quickly, "But I don't know if I want to or not!"

Fanny shook her head and chuckled quietly. "Liar," she said softly, "There's nothin' ye want more righ' now than ta be a Wrecker. Ye can't fool me ye stoopid boy."

"You know me way too well Fa-…Numbuh 86," Patton said, wondering why he felt compelled to use her real name.

"Jus' promise me one thing," Fanny said, glancing at her feet, embarrassed about what she was about to say, "Promise ye'll come back alive."

"Oh, come on now-"

Fanny suddenly grabbed his collar with both hands and yanked him to his feet, and growled menacingly, "Promise!"

"Okay, I promise!" Patton exclaimed, actually a little frightened. Fanny's grip loosened, but she still did not let go. Now Patton couldn't help but smile; this was the Fanny Fullbright he knew.

Fanny gave him a hard stare for a good full minute, furrowing her eyebrows as if she was trying to find some secret message in his face. All the while Patton remained frozen, perplexed at his coworkers definitely abnormal behavior. Finally Fanny relaxed and let her hands slip down the front of his shirt and back to her sides.

"Good," she snipped, and then proceeded to jump back and flop down on Patton's bed with an odd sort of elegance, "Now go be a good little Eskimo-boy, an' fetch me a soda." When Patton only raised an eyebrow, she snapped, "And yes, that's an order!"

Patton gave a light salute and chuckled on his way out of his room, which apparently Fanny had decided to make her own for the time being. But right now, that was okay.

* * *

><p>Nigel and Wally had excused themselves from Numbuh 362, and went on a brisk walk around Moon Base to catch up. At this point though, their 'catching up' had moved on past "How are you?", "What's space like?", "Any new friends?", and "Joey is how big now?" to more, shall we say, business related matters.<p>

"So your Wreckers have been monitoring their movements? Impressive," Nigel said in a low tone, wary of the never-ending throngs of gossipers that run rampant around Moon Base. Normally talking about matters like this would be a terrible idea while strolling around Moon Base, but thanks to Numbuh 1's new found infamy no one dared to approach the two walking legends. Also, who knows what rooms Numbuh 362 may have bugged. Even from his short time with her since returning, Nigel could tell she was on the verge of paranoia.

"Tryin' to at least," Wally answered, "Galactic doesn't do much roamin' 'round these pawts now that Numbah Infinity flew the coop. Usually they're jus' pokin' at the Asteroid Belt 'er somethin'. Coupla toimes though, they've taken a peek at Earth. Some bloke in Arizona actually gotta video of 'em. Been the biggest YouTube vid fer a few weeks now."

Nigel smirked before asking, "Do you think Earth will ever know about the GKND?"

"At the rate we're at? Not fer a long toime, mate."

* * *

><p>Rachel sat alone in the mess hall after Numbuh 1 and 4's departure. Again, her mind raced back to the same blaring fact and question, <em>"He's back! But why?"<em> After another minute of roundabout thought, Numbuh 60 caught her eye as he crossed toward one of the mess hall exits holding a raspberry soda.

_That's funny. I thought Numbuh 60 hated raspberry_, Rachel thought. Regardless, she left her seat and quickly caught up to him.

"Numbuh 60," she called, causing him to about-face and salute on instinct of her call. She dismissed his formality with a wave and continued, "Do you have a minute?"

"Can we walk and talk?" he countered, "I'm out on assignment."

Rachel furrowed her brow in moderate confusion and asked, "Assignment?"

"Retrieval mission," he answered with a grin and held up the raspberry soda, "Package is in custody, on route to delivery."

Of course, that's why the raspberry; Numbuh 86's favorite. Rachel chuckled and nodded in understanding before falling in step with Numbuh 60 as he set off again at a brisk pace.

"Why do you think Numbuh 1 is here? Why is he back?" she asked him, cutting straight to the chase. She had been dying to know Numbuh 60's analysis all day now.

"He's scared," Numbuh 60 replied gravely, causing Rachel's eyes to fly open is shock, "Numbuh 1 is trying to hide from something, and he's hoping that whatever is after him will overlook Earth as being too obvious. The bigger question is: What in this galaxy could scare Nigel Uno that bad?"

_Nigel…scared? Is that even possible? Maybe Numbuh 60 is wrong…_

"Ma'am, I know fear when I see it, just as well as I can see your doubt," Numbuh 60 said sternly, answering her thought. Rachel stopped walking, and after a couple more steps so did Numbuh 60. When he turned to face her, she spoke while in the process of regaining her composure.

"I've got to go find him," Rachel said, "I going to find out just what in the name of the Fourth Flavor is going on here. Carry on Numbuh 60."

* * *

><p>And off she went. Off to chase her life's obsession. Numbuh 60 could see it, every time she looked at him. Numbuh 1 is precisely what makes Rachel McKenzie tick. It was the funniest thing really, the world's greatest child bureaucrat and the practical lovechild of Evil Canival and Captain America. They were the Yin to each other's Yang that kept the other spinning.<p>

But enough sentimental musings, Fanny would kill him if he took too long getting her soda. Patton covered the rest of the way to his quarters, barely paying attention to the gray metal walls patched together by 2x4 engineering.

When he opened his door he found Numbuh 86 sitting up on his bed, arms crossed, fingers drumming against her left arm impatiently.

"Ets about time!" she exclaimed and leaped up to snatch her soda. But rather than letting her have it Patton held the can up and away from her, using his shoulder to keep her at bay. "Excuuuuse me?" was her response.

"Y'know…" he said, struggling to keep her at bay while she kept struggling to claim her beverage, "There are a couple words we usually say to express gratitude!"

Fanny just shrieked unintelligible and kept on jumping for the soda while Patton grinned like a maniac. This was way too much fun! Suddenly Fanny made a much higher jump and managed to get a solid hand on the soda. But she used to much force with her lunge and knocked the can to the ground, in the corner of Patton's room. Patton saw Fanny's eyes lock onto the grounded can, but before she could make a dive for it, Patton dipped down, grabbed her, and hoisted Fanny up onto his shoulder.

This time her protest was a surprised and enraged squeal (which Patton found hilarious). As she began to order Patton to let her down, he obliged…by tossing her none too gently down onto his bed. Then with a trained swiftness, Patton hopped onto the bed and pinned his adversary down.

"Gotcha," he said with an all too smug smile. Fanny was about to reply when the door was opened…

"Numbah 60, Oi… Woah!"

In a single blink of an eye Patton was up on his feet, nearly tripping over his chair, and Fanny was sitting upright and up against the wall.

"Numbuh 4!" The both cried at the same time.

"W-what are you doing here?" Patton asked, still a bit frenzied.

"Well first Ah'm gonna fergit Oi say tha'," this earned a fiery glare from both officers, "Then Ah'm gonna give ya some news; Numbah 362 is considerin' yer transfeh."

Fanny slipped off the bed behind Patton while he faced Numbuh 4 and replied, "Actually I was just about to go and request my transfer." Patton then felt Fanny's hands rest on his back and her forehead on the back of his neck. "Where is the Soopreme Leaduh?"

"Where Numbuh 1 is. Earth."

AN: Here is where I'd like to make two slight apologizes if needed. One, I'm sorry for making Patton bordering on a Gary Stu, I'll try and tone him down. Two, sorry if I'm making these relationships (especially Fanny and Patton's) a bit blatant. Please continue to read and enjoy. Oh and don't forget to Review!


	4. Gifts and Grievances

Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap….

"Nervous Pops?"

Numbuh Infinity's head snapped up and his foot froze mid tap at Omega-1's voice.

"Of course not!" Infinity snapped, "I just want Nigel Uno in custody as soon as possible."

Omega-1 grunted and stood up from his seat in Infinity's temporary office in the GKND's prison ship. The ship body itself was cylindrical and smooth, like a giant flying can of hairspray. The entire center third of the ship, which was about twenty meters long and four decks high, was nothing but prison cells. The fancy kind too, with energy barriers to contain their captives. Omega remembered those cells particularly difficult to escape from.

The front third of the craft was made up of the bridge, crew quarters, and primary battle stations. This is the section where Infinity's office was nestled, right in the center. Then the rear sections was simply engines and supply storage. The office itself was spacious, with plenty of space to walk around while still housing a desk, several chair in front of it, and the rear wall lined with filing cabinets. Omega-1 never understood why Infinity took so much paperwork and other sorts of useless junk around with him. There couldn't possible be a purpose for it all.

"I'm going for a walk," Omega declared, and started leisurely for the door.

"No you don't Jim!" Infinity said. Omega heard his chair roll back and the shuffling of shoes as he reached the door. "I told you, you are staying right here!"

Omega barely felt Infinity's hands on his shoulders as the dark boy tried to hold him back. But such methods could not restrain the new and improved Jim Franklin. Jim just kept walking, making no move to reach for the door's opening mechanism.

"Jim, what are you-?"

The piercing clamor of metal bending and tearing rang through the ship as Omega-1 simply walked through the door. Omega couldn't help but grin as the door gave away to his power. Infinity needed to be reminded quickly, that every moment Omega-1 did not dispose of him, and rather help him, was not an act of obedience. It was a gift.

* * *

><p>"Dad, it's me! Your son, Nigel!"<p>

The large, round, grey haired man frowned even deeper. Now this rascal was really getting troublesome. Honestly, his boy would never be so belligerent and nonsensical. The nerve of some children these days.

"Now listen boy, my son is off in a crackerjack boarding school in Birmingham! In fact I just talked to him on the telly-phone this morning! Now shoo, before I call your parents and tell them their son is disturbing the peace," and with that Monty Uno slammed his door shut and heaved a great sigh.

"Who ever was that dear?" his wife called from the living.

"Oh, just one of those little pranksters that scamper about the neighborhood. You know it's times like these I'm glad our Nigel is so refined, and upstanding. Not like that poor, misguided boy."

Nigel couldn't believe it. His own father didn't recognize him. Sure he had grown a bit in the last few months, but he barely looked different at all. He had even found a set of his old usual attire stowed up in Sector V's old storage unit on Moon Base.

"Did you really expect the GKND to leave that big of a loose end?" came a voice from behind him. Rachel. Nigel quickly rounded on her and marched across his driveway to come face to face with her.

"I was standing right in front of him! How did he not recognize me?" he exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

"They won't be able to recognize you until your eighteenth birthday," Rachel said calmly to a still fuming Nigel Uno. Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone else on the street.

"Until I'm EIGHTEEN! How could they-!..." it was in that moment that Nigel's logical side gave him a quick slap in the face after fully processing Numbuh 362's revelation, "Wait, how do you know anything about GKND operations?" Nigel's eyes narrowed at his former commanding officer with great scrutiny.

"Ha, you really think I would let Numbuh Infinity get away before I got every last bit of information I could out of him? Although it wasn't really that much, I know exactly how the GKND handled your departure," she explained, then she softened, "I'm really sorry Nigel, but according to the world you don't come home from a British boarding school for six more years." Rachel really did feel awful for him. To look your own dad in the eye and be called a stranger…

"But…but he said he just talked to me this morning," Nigel stammered, taking a step back and bringing a hand up to his now reeling head. He was now going from furious to confused to the point of fear. Nigel had been feeling way too much fear as of late. It was very foreign, and he still hadn't found how to deal with it.

"A super-intelligent AI," she answered shortly and quietly, feeling helpless as she watched him stumble in his confusion. Suddenly the two pre-teens heard the whining of engines above them and looked up. A S.C.A.M.P.E.R. was landing in the middle of the street right by then. They quickly glanced at each other, both equally perplexed, before turning toward the door of the craft to see who was arriving.

The starboard door slid open, and out stepped Numbuhs 4, 86, and 60.

"Hey there Supreme!" called Numbuh 4 as the S.C.A.M.P.E.R.'s engine powered down, "Oi figyahed ya moit need some help dealin' with Numbah 1 fer this one. An' Numbah 60 here want a word with ya!"

"Numbuh 4, you have the most amazing timing," Rachel mused as the three newcomers walked down onto the street toward their friends. Wally had his hands tucked into his hoodie and gave Nigel a small grin, trying to convey his understanding.

"C'mon mate," Wally said, setting a hand on Nigel's shoulder, "lets take a little walk down tha lane, eh?" With that young Beatles guided his best friend away, down the street to discuss Nigel's newfound trauma.

Patton took a moment to grin at the two and muse, "Well, Numbuh 4 sure grew up in a hurry ever since Numbuh 1 left. He can even comprehend basic human emotions now."

"Oi heard that!"

"Yeah, he's grown up," Rachel added with her own grin, "But only a little. So Numbuh 60-"

"I want the transfer," he interrupted, all humor drained from him. Numbuh 86, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, flinched the slightest bit and drew a bit closer to Patton. A light breeze had picked up, blowing brown, yellow, and orange autumn leaved down the road. One even had time to twirl its own little dance between the Supreme Leaduh and her officers before her answer came.

"Transfer…reluctantly granted, Numbuh 60," Rachel said slowly, still unsure if she was making the right choice, "You will begin your assignment at the end of this month. That gives you four days to organize things at Artic Base."

"Halloween, huh? That's only a little ominous," Patton said, trying to lighten up the currently solemn atmosphere. His joke caused Rachel's grin to return, and Fanny to smack him on the back of the head.

"Hey!" he yelped and shot a glare back at her, making Rachel now chuckle. Somehow her two best friends never failed to amuse her, no matter the time or place.

A/N: Please excuse me for the never ending build up. Hopefully we can get the ball rolling faster in the next two chapters. And for those of you who are already fans of the Wreckers, you'll finally get a taste…

Which reminds me, here's a disclaimer for ya: The Wreckers are NOT my original idea. The concept (and even the name) comes from the IDW Transformers comics. Yay, no lawsuits for me!


	5. Fright Night

October 31. Moonbase Annual Halloween Bash.

The generic pop music was nearly deafening on the Bridge, which had been converted into the ultimate party deck along with the rest of the Command Deck, complete with Frankenstein head bounce house and endless amounts of candy and soda. Nigel Uno stood at the head of the Bridge, looking down at the festivities. Only a few younger girls occupied the Bridge with him, playing a game of hopscotch at the beginning of the Bridge. They paid Nigel no head, especially since a mask hid his face. Rachel had insisted he dress up for Halloween with the rest of the KND since he insisted on using their base as a home for an undisclosed reason. So Nigel decided he might as well do something a bit fun, so he settle on the Phantom from Phantom of the Opera. Most kids had no idea what the costume was from, but thought it looked kind of cool anyway.

Down bellow where communication, observation, and weapons stations would usually be manned, kids were dancing around like fools without abandon. Every once in a while he caught glimpse of someone he recognized; the 44 twins in the bounce house, Numbuh 74.239 over by the strobe lights, Numbuh 13 flailing and falling about on the dance floor, the list goes on. The faces he longed to see though were those of his teammates…former teammates.

"They'll be here soon," came a bemused voice beside him. Nigel whipped his head to his left and found a blonde in a Bat Girl costume. Rachel was mimicking his posture of leaning with her forearms on the Bridge railing, eyeing the crowd. "Once they're done with whatever they're doing planet side, they'll be here. Everyone in the KND is invited, remember?"

She was right, it was only 10 pm. There was something else Nigel missed while he was away: Rachel's optimism. He grinned wryly and glanced over at his caped-crusaderette companion.

"Yes, of course," he remarked, before snipping for fun, "But they'd better get here ASA-Now."

* * *

><p>Abby swung her feet as she sat idle on her swing on the playground, waiting for Hoagie to pick her up. She checked her watch for the fifth time and sighed. Already ten minutes late, typical Hoagie. Abby was about to start flipping the hat of her Carmen Santiago costume in boredom when a spot of light began moving and growing larger on the horizon. Abby stood up and assumed the "What took you so long?" stance. The modified S.C.A.M.P.E.R. touched down gently on the grass before her and the loading ramp open. And from the ramp descended her "date" in a Sherlock Holmes costume.<p>

"You chariot awaits milady," Hoagie crooned with that goofy grin of his.

"Yeah, and yo date's been "awaiting" for about half an hour," she retorted with her own much less dorky grin as she brushed by him into the ship.

"Hehehe, yeah sorry about that. Kinda lost track of time with the Monitors," he said as he followed her into his ship and closed the loading ramp. He nestled into his familiar seat at the helm while Abby began preflight checks from the copilot station. "Just like old times, eh?" he murmured with slight nostalgia.

It was no secret they all missed their glory days as Sector V.

"Yeah," Abby murmured back with a genuine smile. The engines whined as their chariot took flight toward destiny.

* * *

><p>"Nice costume, Medusa right?"<p>

Fanny spun around to pulverize the fool who dared mock her, but only found…him. She decided to slap him anyway. Darn, she didn't manage to slap that smug grin off his face.

"I guess I deserved that," Drilovsky admitted as he massaged his assaulted cheek for a moment. Fanny smirked at him when she saw his outfit.

_He would be Captain America._

"And et's Athena by the wey," she snapped, smoothing out her Greek robe. Patton moved to her side to lean against the table she was about to get some punch from. Fanny also leaned on the table and scrunched her eyebrows as she gave him a once over. "Ah thought ye were supposed ta be startin' with the Wreckers tonight?"

Patton chuckled and said, "Who do you think is running security?" When Fanny squinted at him in inquisition, he pointed to the "spooky" chandelier then the back of the bridge. From the chandelier protruded the slightest bit of rifle muzzle, and a GI Joe stood attentively, and strikingly in character, at the railing of the Bridge.

"Not bad," she commented nonchalantly. It will be a very blue moon the day Fanny says anything he does is actually impressive. There was a pause in their banter as a new song began. "Lightning Bugs" by Hoot Town.

Patton fidgeting slightly before speaking up, "Soooo…do you wanna-?"

"Dance?" Fanny finished quickly, suddenly becoming interested in the chandelier. They both glanced at each other and smiled the slightest bit.

"I'll take that as a yes then."

* * *

><p>The moment Hoagie and Abbey stepped out of their S.C.A.M.P.E.R. they were enveloped in a bone crushing embrace and their eardrums were assaulted by "Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh!"<p>

"Nice to see you too Numbuh 3," Hoagie managed to choke out. After another second of the bear hug Numbuhs 2 and 5 were released. Before them was Kookie Sanban in a Cinderella costume, starry-eyed and bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Hey goiys," came the much more mellow greeting from Numbuh 4, who was a bit behind Kookie dressed in a fake body-builder costume.

"Great ta see ya buddy!" Numbuh 2 said, giving Wally a pat on the back as the foursome proceeded from the hangars toward the party, Numbuh 3 chattering away to Numbuh 5 about…well just about everything that had happened in the last three months since the girls had last seen each other. Meanwhile the guys shot "war stories" back and forth, Numbuh 4 having to hold back on his missions that were classified.

Yep, it was good to have the gang back together.

* * *

><p>"Long range pods will be ready to launch in T-minus ten minutes Infinity, sir," called a helmsman from bellow the command deck. Numbuh Infinity sat nervously a chair next to his ship's captain, who was of a reptilian species that sported sand colored scales.<p>

"Thank you helmsman. Security station, is Omega-One…still there?" Infinity called back.

"Hasn't moved a muscle, sir. Just staring at the wall, same as the last hour." At this Infinity breathed a mental sigh of relief. Infinity could see the continents of the Earth clearly now that then had rounded Mars. Infinity never saw why people were so awed by seeing Earth from space. Might as well be awed by seeing the sun in the sky, or a little fish swimming in a stream. Just another giant rock floating about in space. Numbuh 1 would regret wasting his time going rouge just to come back to the worst hiding spot on Earth. Pun intended.

* * *

><p>Since the Sticky Beard incident a year ago, Halloween had been declared a truce day between kids and adults on account of fighting on All Hallows Eve always proved to the fruitless or end badly for the adults. This is why no one was manning the radar station that showed a small blip moving far too fast to be anything but a craft with malicious intent.<p>

* * *

><p>Meanwhile on the Bridge, a joyous reunion was about to be cut way too short.<p>

Numbuh 1 checked his watch for the third time in the last five minutes, Rachel had since left to go hang out with Fanny and Patton, when he heard a chorus of four voices he had been longing to hear for the last year.

"NIGEL!"

He spun around to see his four best friends in the entire universe at the end of the Bridge. From there on, time ran in slow motion. Both parties launched themselves into a sprint toward each other, arms spread in preparation for a group hug. One step, a second step, a third. Nigel could feel his heart beat in his ears. A fourth step, a fifth. That's when the group of four caught a glimpse of a round blob growing larger by the instant. Sixth step, seventh. The crash, followed by the sealing of a giant blast door over the Command Center's observation window. Eighth step, and the beginning of a stumbling halt. And before the ninth step could land or Nigel was able to look over his shoulder, the metallic sphere struck the Bridge. The impact sent debris flying everywhere, kids scattered to the edges of the Command Center, and the resulting shockwave knocked Nigel off his feet and into the arms of his awaiting friends. The now fivesome was thrown to the floor, meanwhile the Wreckers, including Numbuh 60, opened fire on the spheroid craft from their various locations throughout the room. After about five second of barrage, the seven streams of fire ceased.

When the smoke cleared, the sphere was unscratched and imbedded in the Bridge. Then, ever so slowly, an opening formed on the top of the sphere and a figure emerged. A figure with eyes blacker than space.

"Nice party. Mind if I crash it?"

A/N: Man it is almost sickening how sweet I'm making the Fanny/Patton here, but ta hell with it! They might just be my favorite pairing in the Fanfiction-verse right now and it's a great way to expel my romantic thoughts and energy.


	6. Outclassed

"Sorry, but no one's allowed into this party without an invitation," then Nigel Uno sealed yet another of his classically cool lines with his iconic catchphrase, "Kids Next Door, Battle Stations!"

Numbuh 20/20 locked onto his target down his scope as the others descended upon the intruder. For a second he saw the void of the villain's eyes, but the next instant, just before his trigger squeeze, the enemy disappeared from 20/20's view. He looked up from his scope and heard a jingle to his left, the side of the chandelier he hid in being brushed.

"Nice tree house." Then Numbuh 20/20's world lit up brighter than a disco ball. He soared through the air too shell-shocked to land correctly and crashed through the punch table, party foods cascading down upon his now unconscious form.

Down below, Nigel and Patton massaged their newly bruised jaws. They had not expected their opponent to be so fast and ended up hitting each other instead of their target. They looked up just in time to see Numbuh 20/20 crash down on the punch table and the chandelier burst into a thousand tiny fragments. The shards rained down on every operative in the room, all shielding their faces from the crystalline projectiles. By the time Numbuh 1 was able to look up, Numbuh 60 had been hurled dizzyingly into the air and their enemy was an inch away from his face.

"Come and get me Nigel Uno!" The grey skin humanoid shot away over the remainder of Sector V, gliding effortlessly in the air, and landed with a somersault behind them to bolt off through the catacombs of Moon Base.

"Come back!" Nigel yelled as he shot forth in pursuit of the boy-like villain, "You are hereby under arrest by the authority of the Galactic Kids Next Door!" As he passed his friends who were still on the now shattered Bridge, they formed up behind him and followed him toward the hallway. For a moment a grin slipped over Nigel's face as he felt his best friends ran in V formation just behind him, but the moment was cut off by the hallway blast door slamming shut right behind him, just in time to cut him off from his ex-teammates. Now he was alone.

"Numbuh 1, be careful!" he heard Numbuh 5's voice call.

"Go get 'im boss!" cried Numbuh 4.

Nigel wheeled about and threw off his Phantom of the Opera mask and cape. The hallway before him was bear, but he could hear a scuffling sound around a corner to the left. Nigel began to run as quietly as he could, fists clenched in anticipation.

* * *

><p>Patton pushed himself up to his hands and knees slowly, still shell-shocked from being flung off the Bridge, not to mention his head was throbbing from when Numbuh 1 accidentally kicked him. He felt a hand on each shoulder helping to prop him up and looked up to see Numbuh 86. He gave a small, brief grin of gratitude as she helped him to his feet.<p>

"Everyone, out of the way!" he bellowed over the general clamor of the now very confused crowd of party-goers. The crowd parted as Numbuh 60 made his way to Numbuh 362's pulley up to the Bridge, followed closely by Numbuh 86. Before asking or warning her, he grabbed Numbuh 86 around the waist with one arm (to which she shrieked in protest) and yanked on the pulley with the other, shooting the pair up onto the Bridge. Once safely on the Bridge go of Fanny and marched to where Numbuhs 2, 3, 4, and 5 were huddle around the sealed door, Numbuh 2 furiously working the door terminal.

"Numbuh 5, status repor-OUCH!" Numbuh 60 barked, interrupted by the back of Fanny's hand on his head.

"Numbuh 1 is alone in there with that…thing, and the door is unresponsive," Numbuh 5 rattled off, not missing a beat or looking away from Numbuh 2's work.

"It's like Moon Base just totally shut this door down!" Numbuh 2 exclaimed, kicking the terminal in frustration, "We'll have to blow it open."

* * *

><p>"Status report Captain," Infinity demanded, his foot tapping restlessly.<p>

"It seems that Omega-1 has isolated Agent Earth within the base thanks to our override of their security system," the captain (whose name was totally unpronounceable by the human tongue) responded amusedly, "Quite ingenious really, striking when everyone on the base would be confined to the same room. There isn't even a security detail on duty."

Infinity nodded, but he knew he wouldn't be able to stop worrying until Nigel Uno was back in his custody. There were far too many movers and shakers of the GKND that wanted the Earthling back, most of them wanted him alive. And that was part of what worried Infinity the most about sending in Omega-1.

* * *

><p>Nigel rounded another corner to find it barren, but still heard footsteps around the next bend. This had gone on for a good seven minutes now and he had lost track of exactly where he was in the Moon Base. For the first time Nigel stopped running and caught his breath, staring straight down the hallway that stretched away into the distance. And there at the end was his enemy, the gray boy that had smashed into the Moon Base.<p>

"Ready when you are Nigie," his opponent said in a creepily deep voice, and Nigel could not tell whether it was his sadistic tone, or that fact that he used his ex's favorite nickname that gave him a chill. Nigel shook off the odd sensation in an instant and charged toward the boy across the hall. As Nigel charged his opponent did not move a muscle, just stood grinning.

_'No doubt he expects me to go for a straight shot for the head like a typical reckless child. So while he goes high, I'll go low.'_

Nigel finally came within a yard of his enemy and began to execute his misdirection. He brought up his fist like he was going for a punch, but then ducked into a crouch and lashed out his left foot for a leg sweep.

_'Gotcha-'_

It felt like Nigel's face ran smack into a steel boot. Mostly because it did.

_'He's fast.' _Was all Nigel managed to think before seeing stars while skidding across the cold metal floor of the hallway. Nigel ignored his aching jaw (which had now taken two hard kicks today) and scrambled to his feet again. But before he could so much as raise his fists, a punch slammed into Nigel's gut hard enough to slam him into the wall. Nigel choked out a gasp as nearly all of the air was forced out of his lungs. This strange boy may look like a child, but he hit like an adult.

_'No, harder. Much harder,' _Nigel thought as he was punched in the side again, but this time he managed to get his arms up into a boxer's guard. Then the blows started to come down in a constant barrage. Nigel was pelted with strikes that drove him back so fluidly he wasn't sure what was a punch or a kick. Each time he tried to counter-attack he was met with an exceptionally precise and oppressive blow. An attempted jab earned him a black eye. A side roll to get a chance at the legs led to a bloody, probably broken nose. Bruises where turning into welts and cuts. Soon would come fractures. The enemy was pushing him back so fast Nigel was now practically running backwards. Now Nigel's guard was loosening he was so delirious from the onslaught. After a wrecking ball of a side-kick landed on Nigel's sternum, he did the last thing his barely functioning mind could think of. He ducked.

And it worked. Nigel's assailant sailed over him mid haymaker punch so powerful the enemy threw himself over Nigel's head. For a moment time moved in slow motion. Nigel looked up through his swollen, bleeding eyes to see his opponent's face fully for the first time. His eyes were black holes, his face like a corpse, a sinister grin waning as he missed his target for the first time. Death hovering over him, just barely missing its mark. And then everything went white.


	7. Debriefing, Part 1

"Fire in the hole!"

The blast door was propelled from its locked position into the hallway with explosive force (pun shamelessly intended). The outline of the door and the half disintegrated G.U.M.Z.O.O.K.A. lay smoldering and smoking, leaving Sector V and Numbuhs 86, 60, and 362 coughing as they tried to fan away the smoke. Once the smoke was dissipated enough to see through, the seven senior operatives leaped over the threshold, S.P.L.A.N.K.E.R.s and M.U.S.K.E.T.s at the ready. Numbuh 362 heard footsteps behind them and glanced back to see three other kids still in costume formed up at the newly destroyed doorway. She was just about to tell them to get back when she was interrupted.

"They're Wreckers," Numbuh 60 said without looking away from the seemingly barren hallway, "Numbuhs 2130, 9.57, and 10E."

The three operatives that Patton identified as Wreckers would be a motley looking crew even without their costumes. Numbuh 2130 was a big boy nearly a head taller than Numbuh 60 with bulk befitting a teen, under his GI Joe helmet was short but unruly strawberry blonde hair. His light hazel eyes glittered and a natural good-natured grin lay etched above his square jaw.

Next was a Cuban boy who looked shorter than Numbuh 4. This was Numbuh 9.57, who claimed he had never worn a pair of shoes in his life. He had curly black hair that seemed perpetually wind swept and nearly-black brown eyes. Tonight he was adorned in an Aladdin costume.

Last was a girl, thin and lithe, with shoulder length brown hair. She was strikingly pretty and had an air of devil-may-care thrill seeking. She was a bit taller than Rachel, which put her at about eye level with Fanny and Patton. Just like every year since she was five, Numbuh 10E dressed as Amelia Earhart for Halloween.

"Wreckers, move in on tha' target," Numbuh 4 barked out, "Numbahs 3, check on Numbah 1's condition. The rest a' ya, cover us."

Numbuh 362 was taken aback at Numbuh 4's sudden transition into a field general. Before she could respond Numbuh 4, 10E, 2130, 9.57, and 60 sprung forward toward the ruined blast door, which had been thrown on top of the enemy. Since the door's…"compromise" the enemy had not moved, his right foot the only thing sticking out from under the door. The five Wreckers formed a semi-circle around the fallen door and leveled their weapons at it, waiting for their opponent to spring his trap. Tension rose with ever passing second. Numbuh 4's trigger finger twitched. Then a muffled voice finally broke the silence.

"You know, it's rather rude to just invite yourself in without knocking."

The door slowly rose and fell forward toward the KND Operatives, revealing their opponent once more.

"Come now children," the decrepit figure crooned menacingly and brushing himself off casually, "Do you really think you stand a chance? Just look what I did to your little hero there."

"All the mo' reason ta whup you freaky lil' heiny all the way back to Uranus!" Numbuh 5 had now joined the Wreckers in leveling her weapon at Omega-1.

"Oh? You and what army?"

Then the unexpected happened.

"This army!" Came the cry from outside the hallway. All the inhabitants of the hall snapped their attention to the open doorway where there stood a lone kid…with the rest of the Halloween party guests standing behind him, all of them armed to the teeth. The leader was Numbuh 553.

"Well, touché mon amie. It seems I've overstayed my welcome," Omega said nonchalantly, "Au revior!"

Before any of the kids could raise their weapons, the gray skinned strangers bolted off to his right. By the time the Wreckers rounded the corner in pursuit there was a great crash and an automatic airlock door slammed shut. He was gone.

* * *

><p>Numbuh 362 was able to retool the party into a fully functioning Moon Base on UFO watch relatively quickly. Numbuh 3 was taking a look at Numbuh 1, thus far all that she could tell is that he has a concussion and major bruising just about everywhere. Now Numbuh 362 was standing at the head of the Bridge staring at the super-jumbo screen, which was divided into twenty-five smaller views. She had Numbuh 919 bring up every external camera available, all of which just showed empty space.<p>

Numbuh 362 groans quietly and called down, "Numbuh 919, cut the feeds, there's nothing out there. Back to normal surveillance." Numbuh 919 called back an affirmative and Numbuh 362 had a moment of relative peace. She took this moment to call back down bellow, "Numbuh 553, to the Bridge please. Numbuh 5, assume his post." Two affirmatives returned.

A minute later (he took the stairs) Numbuh 553 jogged nervously to the head of the Bridge and saluted to Numbuh 362. "Numbuh 553 reporting!"

Numbuh 362 looked over the boy for a long moment before speaking. "You performed exceptionally today Numbuh 553. You managed to win the day just when defeat was looming just around the bend," Rachel said with the smallest semblance of a smile, "I must ask, how did you manage to rally the entire Moon Base?"

"Um, uh, I…" Numbuh 553 swallowed down his jitters before restarting his sentence, "I just grabbed a couple kids next to me and said 'Hey, we gotta help'. The other just kinda…followed I guess." Numbuh 553 couldn't help but to glance away twice and shuffle his feet. Now Rachel smiled magnanimously at the awkward yet courageous boy, and when he looked up he couldn't help but smile as well, his nerve slightly more at ease.

"What's you real name, 533?" Rachel asked.

"Zach, ma'am. Zack Zimmerman."

"Great job today Zach," Rachel stated in earnest, "Dismissed." Zach turned to leave, but Rachel still had one more thing to say. "And Zach…" Zach turned back around. "Nice timing on the tag line."

* * *

><p>"What the hell was that thing Numbuh 4?"<p>

"Oi told ya Numbah 2130, Oi don't know," Numbuh 4 said for what had to be the seventh time since the meeting began. After clean up from the strange battle, the Wreckers regrouped in one of Moon Base's sealed conference rooms. So far nothing had really been accomplished. Just a lot of questions and no answers.

"Ah! Por dios, mijo!" Numbuh 9.57 exclaimed, "We can do nothing unless you spill las frijoles!"

"The problem thehr' is tha' Oi _don't know anything_!" Wally raised his voice this time, "All we've got is theories, nothin' solid."

"Come on Numbuh 4," Numbuh 10E said from across the table, resting her chin lightly on her knuckles, "You always have a little intel. You've got your finger in every pie, even before they're done baking."

"Well not this toime Numbah 10E," Wally shouted, leaping to his feet. Now he was really mad. Why couldn't they get it through their thick, cocky little heads that for once they were in the dark? At this point Patton stepped out from his corner of the room behind Numbuh 4 to put a hand on his new leader's shoulder, but his gesture was immediately shaken off and met with a glare. "Wreckers dismissed. Now."

Numbuhs 10E, 2130, and 9.57 all filed out of the room, but Numbuh 60 held his ground. So did Numbuh 4.

Patton relaxed a tiny bit and spoke, "Now I know they were being brats, but Numbuh 4, that's not the way to-"

"Don't you dare start tellin' me how ta run this team Numbah 60!" Numbuh 4 barked in Numbuh 60's face, "Oi brought you in as a tactician, not a bleedin' PR adviser! Now back off, an' get outa here."

Numbuh 60 fought back the urge to start yelling at Numbuh 4 about leadership and respect, but he bit his own tongue to silence himself. Instead he saluted stiffly, every inch of him humorless, and marched out of the room. Once the door hissed shut behind him he slammed the bottom of his fist into the wall to his right in frustration. He shook off his hand, not bothering to check the dent he made in the wall.

"Yeah, Numbuh 4 has that effect of people, doesn't he?" a smooth female voice addressed Numbuh 60. He looked up to find Numbuh 10E smirking at him. Numbuh 10E slid off her flight helmet and shook out her chestnut brown hair. Even after hours of being covered by a hat her hair settle back down perfectly, "Don't worry about it though, he's a much better leader in the field than he is in a conference room."

"I guess I'll have to take your word on that," Numbuh 60 replied, subconsciously massaging his newly sore right hand. Numbuh 10E noticed, glancing at his hand before approaching slowly, smirk softening just a touch.

"You're just not doing yourself any favors tonight are you?" she said once she was closer. Then Numbuh 10E brushed the bruise on Numbuh 60's jaw lightly with her fingertips, sending shivers down the boy's spine, "At least, not yet."

"AHEM!"

An obnoxiously loud throat clearing sent Numbuh 60 leaping back into the door, looking over Numbuh 10E's shoulder to find the source of the noise. Numbuh 10E held her ground, still staring at Numbuh 60.

"Am I interrupting?" asked an obviously peeved Numbuh 86. Meanwhile Numbuh 10E was writing a note on a little scrap of paper, giggling amusedly.

"Oh, no-no, Numbuh 10E and I were just, uh, discussing the debriefing!" Numbuh 60 blurted, unsure exactly why he felt like he had been caught red handed.

"Don't worry Franny, I'm outa here," 10E interjected before tucking a note into the belt of Numbuh 60's Captain America costume, "See ya later hotshot."

All Patton managed to do was stutter for a moment at the two girls, one of them departing, the other closing in on him like cat on a church mouse. It took until Fanny was standing right in front of him arms crossed and eyes glaring that he managed the following rebuttal, "…What? Something on my face?"

* * *

><p>"You failed."<p>

"No, I gathered intelligence."

"Intelligence my ass!" Infinity had had enough of Omega-1's games. "You had him in the palm of your hand and let him slip away! You were sloppy!"

"Temper, temper daddy dearest. Don't make me have to calm you down." That shut Numbuh Infinity up in a hurry. "Nigel Uno got very lucky tonight. And if there is anything Nigel Uno is, it's lucky. But everyone's luck runs out sooner or later."

* * *

><p>Numbuh 362 entered Moon Base Hospital at a brisk walk, but she wanted to run. The only two in the hospital tonight were Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 20-20, and Kuki had put them at the very back of the Hospital in a private room. And right now the 100 feet between the entrance and the private rooms seemed an ungodly long distance. Finally Numbuh 362 arrived at the private wing, not bothering to knock as she all but charged into the room. Once inside she was immediately met with resistance.<p>

"Out, out, out, out, OUT! No visitors until the Supreme Leaduh says…" Kuki then noticed who exactly she was shoving out of the private wing and chuckled nervously, "Oh, hi Numbuh 362! Um, right this way?"

Normally Numbuh 362 would have reassured Numbuh 3 that it was alright and not to worry, but this was not a normal time.

"Is he conscious?" Numbuh 362 asked as she reentered the room, spotting Nigel on the bed in the middle of the line of beds.

"Yes, but-" That was all Kuki managed to squeak out before Rachel grabbed the collar of Nigel's hospital gown, snapping him out of his pensive staring at the ceiling.

"What the heck WAS that…that Thing!" she yelled in his face, yanking him up to be nose to nose with her. For a second Rachel thought that nothing could deter her from her seething rage. Then she saw the most horrifying expression she had ever seen on Nigel Uno's face; and perfect mix of confusion and fear.

"I…I don't know," he replied feebly, like a child waking up from a nightmare.

* * *

><p>AN: So this chapter is going to be split into two parts. I have no idea why it is stretching out as long as it is, but I'm not going to question inspiration seeing as how I seem to be having very little of it lately…


	8. Debriefing, Part 2

A/N: So, I just realized I hate the way I did the end of the scene with 10E, Patton, and Fanny so I've tweaked it and edited that spot of last chapter. Not really anything major, just less "dramatic". Allows for less relationship drama this early and allows for real plot progression. I would like to thank those who have reviewed so far for their support and enthusiasm. I'm especially glad that the Wreckers have been so well received. I don't own CN: KND or any professional media. Aaaaanyway, now onto the chapter at hand.

* * *

><p>The stars seemed less magnificent at 2 A.M., especially after the worst Halloween night of Nigel Uno's life. Besides the bruises, cuts, and concussion Nigel had three broken ribs and a dislocated left shoulder. How can a <em>kid<em> hit hard enough to dislocate a shoulder, much less crack ribs? Now he was staring out the window of the Wreckers' heavily armored S.C.A.M.P.E.R., left arm in a sling, torso wrapped in bandages, and being carted down to Artic Base by an armed escort. He felt so useless, helpless. Over and over again he replayed his "battle" with the enemy Rachel had temporarily dubbed Gray.

"You know brooding isn't healthy for a boy your age, soldier," said a voice to Nigel's left. Patton had joined him by the window. Throughout the years there were seldom times Patton and Nigel had agreed on anything. Nigel was a maverick and calling him unorthodox was being moderate, while Patton was a fundamentalist. But regardless of ideology they were still comrades. And on rare moments such as this, even friends.

"True. It also isn't healthy for a boy _your_ age to totally whipped," Nigel countered playfully, enjoying the first lighthearted moment he'd had in hours.

"Oh, you're one to talk Uno," Patton returned, referencing Nigel's ex. Patton did have a point there.

"It's very late. Aren't your parents going to be worried?" Nigel asked to change the subject.

"No worries Uno, they think I'm spending the night at Lance's house," Patton answered, slightly grateful to be off the topic of love lives. He still did not know what to think of the note Numbuh 10E had slipped him:

_Welcome party for you in my room, 199 Deck 14._

_XO, Fiona_

While Patton glanced over at the girl in question whom was piloting the Wrecker's ship, a moment of silence fell. Nigel went back to staring out the window, watching atmospheric friction turn the armor plates of the S.C.A.M.P.E.R. red-hot.

* * *

><p>The little red blip on the radar screen seemed so tiny, so insignificant, so easy to just snatch up and destroy. Probably because it was. So why weren't they taking action and ending this silly little intergalactic squabble?<p>

"Because it is too soon, Infinity," Omega-1 spat, blatantly irritated. Infinity nearly jumped right out of his skin, wheeling his desk chair around to find Omega-1 right behind him, leaning against his filing cabinets.

"T-too soon?" Infinity growled, just regaining composure, "How is it too soon Jim? The longer we wait, the longer they have to prepare themselves!"

"Wrong. This is why you need me, Daddy-Dearest, because you are a terrible hunter," Omega-1 mocked as he circled around to the front of Numbuh Infinity's desk, "They can try to prepare, but no amount of time will save them because they know next to nothing about us…about me. They'll construct a quaint little "defensive perimeter" or something equally as mundane straight out of an amateur strategist textbook."

Omega-1 bowed his head and snickered. Then chuckled. Then howled. His laughter was malicious. Insane. Demonic. He continued, "Bwahaha! But you see, hehe, the best part about waiting, HA!, is the boy's FEAR! For, tehehe, for the first time in his little life Nigel Uno is _scared_! And he, oh ho HO!, he has no idea how to cope. His fear is going to build, and build, and build, and build until he's just a trembling little mass of wretched whelp on the floor of their little frozen funhouse!"

Omega's laughter overtook him. He fell to the floor in such a state that he shouldn't have been able to breath. Good thing Jim Franklin didn't need to breath anymore.

* * *

><p>"Perimeter is established, sir, and the extra air support you requested has arrived from Sector E."<p>

"Thank you Numbuh 53."

"Keep us posted on any and all further developments."

The 44 twins set their phones down simultaneously. They had an extra line put into Numbuh 60's old office so they could both be in on the same conversation. Pete looked to Peter and offered a weary grin. Stepping into Numbuh 60's shoes had been the brothers' dream ever since they had begun working at Artic Base, and it was everything they had dreamed…just a lot more exhausting.

"Defensive perimeter set," said Peter.

"Air support ready," said Pete.

"Numbuh 2+2 working to optimize the sensors," said Peter.

"And only one root beer left to celebrate a successful first day on the job," said Pete.

"You ready to settle this?" asked Peter.

"Always," said Pete, "Winner take all."

"Rock, Paper, Scissors!"

Numbuh 44 couldn't tell which tasted sweeter: victory or the root beer.

* * *

><p>Zack had no idea why he was there. Well, technically he did. Numbuh 1 himself requested Zack to be his personal assistant while the living legend recovered. Apparently, when Numbuh 3 found out she would be unable to come to Artic Base to watch over Numbuh 1 she ordered that the battered Brit choose an operative to monitor him around the clock. Numbuh 1 asked if he could choose, and he chose Zack. And that's what Zack was confused about: why him? Zack Zimmermn, A.K.A. Numbuh 553, pondered this question as he sat somewhat uncomfortably in the corner of his and Numbuh 1's temporary quarters.<p>

_I guess he technically isn't Numbuh 1 anymore, is he? He's not officially in the KND. But then what do I call him, Nigel? No way. Too weird. Like calling your Dad by his first name. Numbuh 1 will do for now._

Numbuh 553 jumped a fraction when Numbuh 1 tossed down his pencil with a sharp exhale. For the last hour Numuh 1 had been writing down a little personal debriefing of what happened tonight (well technically last night, seeing as how it was 4 A.M.) with paper and pencil.

_"I've been doing this ever since taking command of Sector V,"_ Numbuh 1 had told Zack, _"After typing up the official post-OP report, I hand write a personal one. Kind of like a journal I suppose. No one knows I do it, not even my team. It's to make the mission a physical memory; to make sure it remains real."_

Zack wanted so badly to ask more questions about the mission journal, about why he made them. What it just sentimental value? Maybe to resurrect the memories after decommissioning? Did he want to write a book? Could it be just for sentimental value? But he didn't dare. For some reason Zack Zimmerman was still stiflingly afraid of Nigel Uno, and it wasn't until two hours ago that Zack had managed to subdue the physical sign of his fear, like flinching when Numbuh 1 looked at him too quickly or trembling when Numbuh 1 paused for more than a second.

Numbuh 1's clear British accent broke Zack's reverie, "It's miserably late. We should sleep. I don't know about you but I'm _beat_."

It took a full five seconds and the Brit's sly grin to make Zack realize that his companion had just made a joke. Zack's laugh was more of an awkward, shaky series of exhales, but the amusement was communicated. It was also then that Zack found it amazing that he hadn't nodded off until hours ago. Needless to say, it was _way_ past his bedtime. Zack was suddenly struck with the drowsiness that had built up from the day that had until then been kept at bay by the apprehension that something crazy was going to happen in a moment or two. It was just that kind of day. Heck, it was that kind of week. And it probably wouldn't be the last for quite some time.

Zack numbly clambered onto his cot that stood against the far side of their quarters, and he heard Numbuh 1 do the same a few feet away. A moment after both boys were settled in, Numbuh 1 switched off the lights.

"Goodnight Zack."

"…Goodnight Nigel."

There, in the dark, during the most uncertain moment of both of their lives, the boys became friends.

* * *

><p>AN: I find the more I work on this story, the less I want it to be a non-stop action/adventure and the more I want it to take on an introspective, Noire type vibe. Is that coming across? If so, this is one seriously stoked author. I hope you all can dig that. There will still be action, fear not but this is by no means a shoot-em-up, Die Hard type deal (if you don't know what the Die Hard movies are, you have some serious cinema to catch up on. Not that there are Die Hard references in this thing ((although now that I think of it, that is a VERY tempting idea)), it's just a pop culture section that's good to know). And now I'm babbling. I apologize for the babbling and the weird-ish way I may describe (or not describe) things, but I'm an actor and I like to communicate in vibes and feelings. And intangible abstracts are a hard medium to translate into writing. Especially during the more miserable hours of the morning. So yeah. Bye.


	9. Base of Escalation

Base of Escalation

Whoever had just entered his room unannounced didn't bother trying to be subtle, but Patton still kept his attention tunneled on the sparse security footage and stills of "Gray". Seven footsteps padded fluidly across his room, closing in casually. _That's odd, it usually takes her five steps._ A chin rested itself on the top of Patton's head, and he let out a bemused snort.

"Not now 86, I've only got half the attack mapped out. Stupid cameras went on the fritz once that thing showed up."

"Expecting someone else hotshot?"

That wasn't an Irish brogue.

Patton spun his chair around, dislodging the unknown chin from his head, and faced his unwelcome guest. His heart skipped a beat and he swallowed.

"Numbuh 10E!"

"Very good, Patty. I noticed you didn't take my little offer up," she purred as she settled herself down on his bed, "Then again, we had to leave Moonbase in an awful big hurry, didn't we?"

"Don't call me Patty," Patton clipped, frozen in his seat.

"No? That's a shame. I thought it was cute. Patty." She blatantly let her eyes wander all over him. Patton squirmed in his seat a little, but he didn't turn away. He couldn't.

"So what is it between you and Numbuh 86?" 10E asked, "Is she your girlfriend? Or just a favorite squeeze?"

That struck a nerve. Patton stood and said curtly, "That's none of your business. And don't call her that."

"Oh, so she is your girlfriend?" Her question cut swiftly, her eyebrows raised to challenge him.

"No!"

A smug smile smoothly crept across Numbuh 10E's face, hooding her eyes just so, and Patton realized he had made a fatal mistake. Fiona sashayed across the room to Patton far too gracefully for an 11 year old girl. She got far too close, but Patton's legs were pinned against his chair, giving him nowhere to run. She hooked a finger in Patton's collar and let the other hand play absentmindedly with his jacket lapel.

"Then I don't see the problem, hotshot." Her breath tingled across Patton's face, and smelled delightfully minty. Her coo was followed by a kiss, light as air, on Patton's cheek dangerously close to the corner of his mouth. An electric shiver wracked down Patton's spine, his eyes wide as saucers, and all he could do was watch Numbuh 10E glide out his door with a wink as the door whooshed shut.

Patton collapsed into his chair, still half petrified and completely confused as to what just happened, why it happened, and how it did…whatever it did to him. A full minute went by before there was a knock on his door, followed by another unsanctioned entry to his abode. This time it was the 44 twins.

"Numbuh 60," Pete said.

"Numbuh 362 called a meeting with all ranking officers," Peter continued, "She request you be there too."

"Cause, ya know, you've been the Artic commander since, like, forever."

"Well, were."

"Cause, ya know, we are now."

"…You okay Numbuh 60?"

A beat.

"Yes?"

Patton's answer wasn't very convincing.

* * *

><p>"Not enough. Call in Sectors Q and E, assign them to around the clock air support. Whichever sector isn't in the air is ready to scramble in negative five seconds."<p>

Nigel Uno had not said a single word the entire "meeting", which really had turned out to be just Numbuh 362 giving a long list of orders, requisitioning far too much of KND resources, and preparing to overwork her officers. She even gave Patton temporary equal authority to Numbuhs 44 in order to utilize him in maintaining Artic Base's defense grid. Plus he was to be on call as a Wrecker. Patton must be incredibly distraught about something, for the entire meeting he kept subtly shifting in his chair every few seconds with little sign that he actually registered any of the absurd number of responsibilities 362 had been dumping on him.

Numbuh 60 was not the only antsy one in the room, though. Numbuh 553 had been squirming in his chair as well, only his discomfort Nigel could pinpoint precisely. Zack Zimmerman had gone through training only hearing stories and legends about the operatives sitting all around the same table he now sat at. Not only was he sitting to the right of THE Numbuh 1, but to Zack's right sat Numbuh 86, directly across from him was the Supreme Leaduh herself, and flanking 362 were Numbuh 60 and Numbuh 4. The final two members of the assembled panel were Lance, a.k.a. Numbuh 10-Speed, and Numbuh 74.239. Even Numbuh 1 was somewhat impressed by the gathering of the KND's movers and shakers.

So why were so many important operatives gathered under one roof for the sake of safeguarding a rogue agent? Nigel's focus returned to Numbuh 362. She had deep bags under her eyes, her eyes themselves were turning bloodshot, and as she gave orders her usual undertone of uplifting confidence was replaced by a desperate growl like a she-wolf keeping her unruly pack in line. Finally, as Rachel was commanding Lance to have his BMX division transferred to Arctic, Nigel had had enough.

"Why?" he snapped, stopping Rachel right in her tracks and gaining the attention of every eye in the room in an instant.

"Excuse me?" Rachel managed to ask him so very quietly that surely the Arctic winds above had stopped whistling so that she could be heard.

"Why all this trouble," Nigel clarified, "Why are you wasting so much on an operative you should be turning in instead of protecting?"

"WHY? My organization has just been compromised by an alien, Numbuh 1, and I am taking-"

"I am not Numbuh 1 anymore!" Nigel bellowed, leaping to his feet. His chair flew back and smacked cacophonously on the ground. He winced from the sharp pain in his ribs from the sudden movement, but the discomfort was well dulled out by his scorn. "I am not in the Kids Next Door anymore, Rachel! I am not your charge, I am a danger, so why aren't you treating me as such?!"

Patton had at last been snapped out of his estranged stupor and rose to his feet as well to snarl at Nigel, "You will compose yourself this instant, Uno!"

Patton was about to go on, but a raised hand halted the words in his mouth. The owner of the hand rose slowly from her seat, not bothering with a glance at Patton. Her eyes were locked on Nigel Uno. After what seemed like an eternity, especially to poor Numbuh 553, she spoke.

"What is it you want here, Nigel?" Rachel asked, "Do you want me to admit that it's all for you? Do you want me to say that I'm so afraid of losing you again that I'd sacrifice everything to save you? Well…"

* * *

><p>AN: Yep. I'm pulling this JV bullshit. Two scenes. Cliffhanger time. What do you think she'll say?

I'd like to (as usual) ask forgiveness for my inconsistency. A busy lifestyle coupled with writer's block tends to hinder the posting process. In fact, the only reason this chapter is being posted is because I decided to just leave it as is with a cliffie rather than finish the scene. Soooo, yeah. That. Hope y'all enjoyed. Reviews are appreciated.


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